First Genius Hour Celebration

When I started researching Genius Hour this summer, I had no idea how the concept would play out in my classroom. The idea was intriguing and seemed worth the risk, so I forged ahead with plans to introduce it to my writing class in the fall. I was very honest with my class that this was the first time I had ever tried this out on a class. I explained that we would figure this out together and, at the end of the semester, decide if we wanted to continue.  The process wasn’t without its bumps. Initially, students struggled with the wide-open freedom of choosing how to spend a 90 minute class block. At first, many of them spent time trying to figure out what I wanted and distrusted me when I explained that the students would determine if their project was successful or not. Likewise, I explained that I would not be assigning grades to their work, they would. This was a very different learning situation for them. Some students quickly adapted to the freedom and began working on a project right away. Other students struggled and begged me to tell them what to do. In the end, my students have voted to continue with Genius Hour.

I wanted to recap our first Genius Hour Celebration below.  I learned more about my students’ passions during this process than I could in a year’s worth of classes. They amazed me and my guests that day. I am forever hooked on Genius Hour and look forward to the second semester of work. 

This group of students set out to document all four years of their high school experience. They spent the semester collecting artifacts from their friends to add to this real life collage. These senior students reflected on how they realized that the next few years of their lives would not be spent so closely with one another. They mentioned that the experience of collecting the artifacts, reflecting on the experiences, and pulling together the display was one they won’t forget as they move in separate directions next fall.

Two students wanted to create homemade Christmas gifts for their families. They decided on glass blown ornaments. At first, they tried to create the projects in our school with a collaboration between our science and art departments, but quickly learned because of safety concerns and equipment, it would not be possible. The students then looked around to see if they could apprentice with an actual glass blower. Their research led them to the arts and craft community in Berea, Kentucky about a 45 minute drive from our school. The students excitedly showed us the video of how they were able to not only watch the artisan craft the glass ornaments, but also create their own ornaments. They were the experts as they explained to us terms like thermal stress, glory hole, and marvering. I was most excited when the students said they were going to go back again over winter break and take their families and make the glass blowing outing a family tradition.

Another student wanted to explore how to create a puzzle. The task seemed simple until the student explained how she had to work around several challenges. She first downloaded a program that would help her draw the puzzle pieces only to find out the program would not work and was actually an advertisement. Next, she tried to create the puzzle pieces by hand only to find out that her tools were not effective and only succeeded in making a mess. Likewise, she realized that too detailed a photo was difficult to cut out. She settled on a vibrant, but simple photograph. Finally, she found a template and after a couple of attempts was successful. She said she her dad was a huge encouragement to her and helped her brainstorm through the challenges.

This last project involved students creating mosaics using glass tiles. The project evolved throughout the semester as the students became more comfortable with the materials they used. They created four mosaics to represent the four seasons. This sunshine mosaic represented summer.  This was the first mosaic the students created and the one they said they learned the most from. In the corner you can see tiny cracks. These cracks led the students to research and seek help about how to prevent them. Each subsequent mosaic improved in quality until finally the students were satisfied with the outcome. I find it interesting that the students chose to show our class the “mistake” rather than  the finished “perfect” one.

My students were honest about their work when they shared their projects. They spoke about the dangers of procrastinating and underestimating the time the projects took. Many of them talked about learning lessons of planning their work before jumping into the project. Others talked about how experimenting with their work paid off in surprising ways. Many of them commented on how well they know their classmates now that we have struggled through our first Genius Hour. All of these lessons might not have occurred if it were not for Genius Hour. So, would I do it again or recommend it to others? Definitely. My students’ excitement fed my teacher soul. I can’t wait to start this madness back up again in January.

Genius Hour: Still Learning

This semester I am conducting Genius Hour time with my writing class. See my first post here on how I began implementing it earlier this year.  

Early on, I noticed that students were in varying stages of progress with their projects. Some students took enthusiastically to the freedom and creative process that Genius Hour encourages. Those students quickly came up with questions to explore and launched their projects soon after. Their excitement was energizing and contagious. As I interacted with those groups, I was amazed at their creativity, work ethic, and perseverance. For those groups, I acted as an encourager, coach, and sometimes a mediator.  I asked questions, offered praise, and counseling when needed. 

Others struggled with that freedom and, exasperated and stressed, asked me to "just tell them what to do". I spent time with those students helping them sift through ideas and pushing them to take on a challenging question. I assured them that they could handle this work. I was surprised at how these students struggled with the freedom of Genius Hour. They were used to structured learning, but unfamiliar with drafting their own learning questions and goals. I had to strike a balance with these students. I provided structure and support when needed and backed off when they were ready to move on without me.  There is still one group the requires my hands-on assistance,  but slowly they are beginning to need me less. 

I am learning as much as my students. Genius Hour has encouraged responsive teaching. Some students are able to ask outright for what they need; other students aren't able to communicate exactly and I must listen for their cues. Each group has different needs and I must accommodate them all. I play many roles during Genius Hour: cheerleader, facilitator, counselor, and, even, prop master. 

This Friday, I surveyed my students to see what they thought about the process. Here are some of their unedited remarks:


   I  would rather have you give us a project. It's too hard to create one on our own. I would rather sit and do guided notes everyday. That is easier.

I like the openness of the project. The structure is good at the beginning when we are generating ideas, but needed less as we work on the project.

I have learned that I am not use to having unstructured learning in school. I kind of like it. 

It's been awesome to take the wheel of my learning for once. I think it promotes creativity.

Genius Hour allows you to express yourself. The best part is being creative and working with friends.

It's a good way to show our creativity and allows us to do what we want rather than what the teacher wants.

It's hard to keep up with the project and other schoolwork because I want to work on my GH project all the time.

It's a fun and creative process that helps our ideas come to life.

It gives us access to materials we wouldn't normally have at home.



Genius Hour has been a journey for both  my students and me.  I know my students are learning skills they can use beyond my writing class. I am learning as much as they are. I look forward to their final projects. 

Genius Hour: The Beginning

During this summer I began researching ways to increase my students’ learning and engagement in my classroom. My research began because of the success I had while adding a project-based learning component to my sophomore English class the last couple of years. Students were motivated and highly productive at a time of year when students are typically exhausted from multiple rounds of testing. I knew I was on to something, but I wanted to figure out how this might work throughout the year.

My research led me to discover 20% time or Genius Hour. Read more here. The more I read about genius hour and exchanged tweets with my PLN, the more excited I became. This way of teaching was very different from what I had been doing the first 13 years of my career, but I was ready for the challenge. Also, I knew my students were ready, too. Thankfully, there are some great online resources and people willing to help newbies like me.

 I decided to try genius hour with my Writing 101 class, an elective course open to 9^th through 12^th graders. One class felt very manageable. If all goes well then I will expand to my other classes in the spring. When I looked at my school’s schedule, it made sense to choose Fridays as our genius hour days. I see my students every other day, so we would have genius hour about twice a month.  So, last Friday, August 30^th I kicked off genius hour. The first Friday was an introduction. I explained the concept to my students. We viewed several videos about creativity. The students formed groups and then brainstormed possible topics and products.

At first, they struggled with the brainstorming, only suggesting minimal, surface level questions and projects that could be completed in one sitting. I kept encouraging them to think deeper and to work on something they felt passionate about. All the while, I withheld the urge to offer suggestions. I wanted the students to do the work—not me. I told them to think outside the bounds of school assignments. Quietly, I was worried. Could my students do this? Were they too grade-conscious to explore a topic on their own? Had they been conditioned to only try to figure out what the teacher wanted them to do? We ended the class with nothing definitively set. No solid groups. No project ideas.

I left that first Friday a little frustrated and unsure of what to do next. Over the weekend, students began messaging me through our school Edmodo account with project ideas and research questions. They were thinking about this on a long, holiday weekend AND they were getting excited about it. The ideas they were pitching were incredible. Many of them were still looking for my approval, but I reminded them that the class needed to approve their project—not me. 

This Friday, September 6^th, our class met again for Genius Hour.  I told the students they needed to finalize their project ideas and pitch them to the class. Students quickly formed their groups and began working through the project proposal handout I gave them. Then the magic began to happen.

One student came up and said she wanted to get published this semester. Did I think that was possible? Another student came up and said she had always wanted to write a novel. One group came up and said they wanted to see if they could make bent-glass ornaments in the school. Could I give them permission to talk to an art and science teacher to see if the project was possible?  Another group came up and asked if they could go ask the FACON teacher to be their mentor on their sewing project idea.  Yet another group said they were going to write, direct, and film their own superhero movie.

My room was chaotic. Students were grouped around tables. Some were sprawled out on the floor. Some were out in the hallway working on their proposal pitch. One student brought in pop tabs to begin working on her project since she had already created her proposal the night before. All students, and I mean ALL, were engaged. It was messy, but productive.

The last 20 minutes of class, I asked the students to post their project ideas up using giant post-it paper. Then I asked the students to provide feedback for each of the proposals. I gave them small post-its and told them to use these three sentence starters for their feedback: “I wonder”, “I think”, and “have you considered”. I wasn’t sure if students would give useful feedback, but they really surprised me. They encouraged my super-shy novelist. They called out the class clown who pitched a project that would only take a few hours. They gave honest, fair feedback.

The bell rung and I stood in the hall to look at their work. I was stunned, pumped and crazy giddy. I felt a goofy smile spreading over my face. Then I called over several of my colleagues and asked them to look at what my students were doing. I even bothered my janitor. It’s going to be a great year.